Making Traditional Tools | CSKT | Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, & Conservation

Making Traditional Fishing Tools

Traditional Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai culture was well adapted to the environment of the northern Rockies and northern Great Plains. The Tribes not only had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals—the time of year to harvest maple wood for the fork of a fish spear; when and where native fish spawned, the creeks that held the greatest populations of pearly mussels—they also possessed a sophisticated and effective technology to harvest fish and other aquatic organisms. Acquiring wild foods in a dependable and efficient way is not easy. It requires knowledge, of course, but also the right tools and techniques. The Tribes' fishing technologies represented the culmination of thousands of years of development. Watch as Tribal member Tim Ryan uses traditional techniques to make fishing line, a fish trap, a spear, and a hook. Then make your own virtual tools.

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Cordage

Make a Fish Trap

Make a Fish Spear

Make a Fish Hook

Fishing: A Gallery of Traditional Tools

Fish were an important source of protein to the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai. They knew, in great detail, the habits, life cycle, and seasonal patterns of the fish and used this knowledge to harvest them whenever needed. They caught fish a number of ways: with dip nets, spears, hooks made of bones and thorns, fish traps, weirs, trenches, snares, and bows and arrows. Sometimes they used torches to attract fish during night fishing. They carried their catches back to camp in bags made of tulles or in baskets, and they built large racks to dry them. They also boiled, baked, fried, and roasted them.

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Cordage

Making Cordage with Tim Ryan

Whether you are making a fish trap, weir, net, or fishing line, you will need to make cordage, which is another word for rope or line. And you will want to use plant material for your cordage because sinew and leather will swell and stretch in water and the knots will come apart. Watch as Tim Ryan shows how to make cordage from a plant called dogbane, a skill the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai knew well. It is still a valuable technique to know, whether or not you use it to catch fish. The movie is about 13 and a half minutes long.

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Make a Fish Trap

Making a Basket Fish Trap with Tim Ryan

Fish trap construction is complex, and traditionally, fish traps were made with great care and precision, as were most of the tools and utilitarian items of the Salish, Pend d' Oreille, and Kootenai. This kind of trap was often used in conjunction with a weir, essentially a willow fence that funneled fish into the trap. The full video is 47 minutes long. Watch the video, then follow the directions below to make your own virtual trap.

Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

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Make a Fish Spear

Making a Fish Spear with Tim Ryan

Spearing fish is not easy. You need to be skilled at estimating the depth of the water, the speed of the swimming fish, the refraction of light, and you need a well-built spear that will glide true through the water. And if successful, you need to be able to pull the struggling fish out of the water without letting it break the shaft or point. Watch the video, then build your own virtual spear. The full movie is 29 and a half minutes long.

Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

×
Make a Fish Hook

Making a Fish Hook with Tim Ryan

Of all the fishing tools, the hook and line is probably the most familiar to us. Most hooks were made from bone or wood—the latter mostly from the thorns from hawthorne trees. Sometimes the fisherman used a pole (usually lodgepole) and sometimes he or she just held the line. Watch the video, then build your own virtual hawthorne hook. The full movie is about 16 minutes long.

Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

×

Fishing: A Gallery of Traditional Tools

Fish were an important source of protein to the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai. They knew, in great detail, the habits, life cycle, and seasonal patterns of the fish and used this knowledge to harvest them whenever needed. They caught fish a number of ways: with dip nets, spears, hooks made of bones and thorns, fish traps, weirs, trenches, snares, and bows and arrows. Sometimes they used torches to attract fish during night fishing. They carried their catches back to camp in bags made of tulles or in baskets, and they built large racks to dry them. They also boiled, baked, fried, and roasted them.

Learn More

Cordage

Making Cordage with Tim Ryan

Whether you are making a fish trap, weir, net, or fishing line, you will need to make cordage, which is another word for rope or line. And you will want to use plant material for your cordage because sinew and leather will swell and stretch in water and the knots will come apart. Watch as Tim Ryan shows how to make cordage from a plant called dogbane, a skill the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai knew well. It is still a valuable technique to know, whether or not you use it to catch fish. The movie is about 13 and a half minutes long.

×
Make a Fish Trap

Making a Basket Fish Trap with Tim Ryan

Fish trap construction is complex, and traditionally, fish traps were made with great care and precision, as were most of the tools and utilitarian items of the Salish, Pend d' Oreille, and Kootenai. This kind of trap was often used in conjunction with a weir, essentially a willow fence that funneled fish into the trap. The full video is 47 minutes long. Watch the video, then follow the directions below to make your own virtual trap.

Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

×
Make a Fish Spear

Making a Fish Spear with Tim Ryan

Spearing fish is not easy. You need to be skilled at estimating the depth of the water, the speed of the swimming fish, the refraction of light, and you need a well-built spear that will glide true through the water. And if successful, you need to be able to pull the struggling fish out of the water without letting it break the shaft or point. Watch the video, then build your own virtual spear. The full movie is 29 and a half minutes long.

Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

×
Make a Fish Hook

Making a Fish Hook with Tim Ryan

Of all the fishing tools, the hook and line is probably the most familiar to us. Most hooks were made from bone or wood—the latter mostly from the thorns from hawthorne trees. Sometimes the fisherman used a pole (usually lodgepole) and sometimes he or she just held the line. Watch the video, then build your own virtual hawthorne hook. The full movie is about 16 minutes long.

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Please be patient. Interactive modules can take up to several minutes to load. If the module is not loading after a minute or two, click on the "X" at top right, and try again.

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